Acronyms & Glossary Light Restoration Project

Appendix E: Acronyms & Glossary

Acronyms AMP ‐ Allotment Management Plan AUM ‐ Animal Unit Month BMP ‐ Best Management Practices CCF ‐ Hundred Cubic Feet (approximately 500 board feet) CFR ‐ Code of Federal Regulations DBH ‐ Diameter at Breast Height DMT ‐ Dwarf Mistletoe DNR ‐ Washington State Department of Natural DSD ‐ Detrimental Soil Disturbance EA ‐ Environmental Assessment EMDS ‐ Ecosystem Management Decision Support ESA ‐ Endangered Act ESR 11 ‐ Ecological Subregion characterized as Dry:Warm:Moist ESR 53 ‐ Ecological Subregion characterized as Moist:Cold:Cold FEIS ‐ Final Environmental Impact Statement FRV ‐ Future Range of Variability FS ‐ Forest Service FSM ‐ Forest Service Manual FVS ‐ Forest Vegetation Simulator GIS ‐ Geographic Information System HRV ‐ Historic Range of Variability HUC ‐ United States Geological Survey hydrologic unit code IDT ‐ Interdisciplinary Team ILBT ‐ Interagency Lynx Biology Team IRA ‐ Inventoried Roadless Area LAU ‐ Lynx Analysis Unit LOS ‐ Late and Old Successional LOSM ‐ Late and Old Successional Multistoried LRMP ‐ Land Management Plan LS ‐ Late Successional LSOF ‐ Late Successional Old Forest MA ‐ Management Area MIS ‐ Management Indicator Species MOU ‐ Memorandum of Understanding NEPA ‐ National Act NFMA ‐ National Forest Management Act NFS ‐ National Forest System

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NG ‐ Northern Goshawk OG ‐ Old Growth PACFISH ‐ Interim Strategies for Managing Anadromous Fish‐producing Watersheds in Eastern Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Portions of California PD ‐ Patch Density PL ‐ Percent Landscape RHCA ‐ Riparian Conservation Area S&G ‐ Standard and Guideline SI ‐ Stand Initiation T&E ‐ Threatened and Endangered USDA ‐ United States Department of Agriculture USDI ‐ United States Department of Interior USFS ‐ United States Forest Service VQO ‐ Visual Quality Objectives WDFW ‐ Washington Department of Fish and Wildife WUI ‐ Wildland Urban Interface

Glossary Airshed An airshed is a part of the atmosphere that behaves in a coherent way with respect to the dispersion of emissions. It typically forms an analytical or management unit. Also: A geographic boundary for air quality standards.

Affected Environment The area that would be affected or created by the alternatives under consideration.

Best Management Practice (BMP) Management actions that are designed to maintain the integrity of a natural resource by preventative rather than corrective means.

Biological Evaluation (BE) Information prepared by or under the direction of the Forest Service concerning listed and Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species that may be in the action area and the evaluation of potential effects of the action on such species and habitat.

Biophysical Environment The aggregation and integration of biological and physical conditions and processes within ecosystems described in terms of moisture and temperature regimes and often represent groupings of plant associations.

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Biomass The total woody material in a forest. However, in the context of this analysis biomass is usually referring to un-merchantable, burnable material, both standing and on the ground.

Broom A cluster of branches, radiating from a single point that results from damage in a tree from agents such as mistletoe.

Brush A collective term that refers to stands of vegetation dominated by shrubby, woody plants or low- growing trees, usually of a type undesirable for livestock or timber management.

Canopy A layer of foliage in a forest stand. Most often refers to the uppermost layer of foliage, but can be used to describe lower layers within a multistoried stand.

CFR Code of Federal Regulations – A codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

Closure Legal restriction on -- but not necessarily elimination of -- specified activities such as smoking, camping, or entry that might cause fires in a given area.

Commercial Thin A silviculture treatment that "thins" out an overstocked stand by removing trees that are large enough to be sold as saw timber. It is carried out to improve the and growth rate of the remaining crop trees.

Composition The abundance, or relative abundance of components, such as water, nutrients, and species, that makes up the ecosystem.

Connectivity 1). The arrangement of that allows and ecological processes to move across the landscape. 2). Patches of similar habitats that are either close together or linked by corridors of appropriate vegetation. The opposite of fragmentation.

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Control a Fire The complete extinguishment of a fire, including spot fires. Fireline has been strengthened so that flare-ups from within the perimeter of the fire would not break through the line.

Control Line All built or natural fire barriers and treated fire edge used to control a fire.

Corridor A defined tract of land, usually linear, through which species must travel to reach habitat suitable for reproduction and other -sustaining needs.

Critical Habitat Specific areas within the geographical area occupied by a species on which are found those physical or biological features essential to conservation of the species.

Crown The bole, branches, limbs and foliage of a tree between the lowest limb with foliage, live or dead, and the top of the tree.

Crown Fire The movement of fire through the crowns or tops of trees or shrubs more or less independently of the surface fire. A fire is said to be crowning when the flames get up into the tops of trees and spreads.

Cumulative Effect (cumulative impact) Effect on the environment that results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (federal or non-federal) or person undertakes such other actions. Cumulative effects can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time.

DBH or dbh Diameter Breast Height; 4.5 feet above ground level.

Decommission of Roads Involves the stabilization and restoration of roads to a more natural state. Activities used to decommission a road include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: reestablishing former drainage patterns, stabilizing slopes, restoring vegetation, blocking the entrance to the road, installing water bars, removing culverts, reestablishing drainage-ways, removing unstable fills, pulling back road shoulders, scattering slash on the roadbed, completely eliminating the roadbed by restoring natural contours and slopes, or other methods designed to meet the specific conditions associated with the unneeded road.

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Defoliation The loss of foliage by a tree, usually as a result of feeding larvae.

Desired Future Condition (DFC) Land or resource conditions that are expected to result if goals and objectives are fully achieved.

Dispersal The movement, usually one way and on any time scale, of plants or animals from their point of origin to another location where the subsequently produce offspring.

Dispersed Recreation Recreation that takes place in primitive settings where few, if any, constructed facilities are provided. Trail use, rock climbing, boating, hunting and fishing are examples of dispersed recreation. Contrast with developed recreation.

Disturbance A significant change in structure and/or composition caused by natural events such as fire, wind, flood, and caused events.

Diversity The variety and relative extent of ecosystem types, including their composition, structure, and process within all or a part of an area.

Duff The layer of decomposing organic materials lying below the litter layer of freshly fallen twigs, needles, and and immediately above the mineral soil.

Dwarf Mistletoe Parasitic plants that parasitize conifers, often redirecting tree nutrients and growth to parasitized portions of the tree.

Ecosystem An arrangement of biotic and abiotic components and forces that move among them.

Environmental Analysis 1). An analysis of actions and their predictable long and short-term environmental effects. Environmental analyses include consideration of physical, biological, social, and economic factors. 2). A general term that could refer to an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.

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Environmental Assessment (EA) EAs were authorized by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. They are analytical documents prepared with public participation to determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed for a project or action. If an EA determines an EIS is not needed, the EA becomes the document allowing agency compliance with NEPA requirements.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) EISs were authorized by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Prepared with public participation, they assist decision-makers by providing information, analysis, and an array of action alternatives, allowing managers to see the probable effects of management decisions on the environment. Generally, an EIS is written for a large-scale action or geographical area.

Erosion The wearing away of the earth’s surface by running water, wave action, moving ice and wind, or process of mass wasting chemical processes. Geologic erosion refers to natural erosion processes occurring over long (geologic) time spans. Accelerated erosion generically refers to erosion in excess of what is presumed or estimated to be naturally occurring levels, and which is a direct result of human activities.

Extreme Fire Behavior "Extreme" implies a level of fire behavior characteristics that ordinarily precludes methods of direct control action. One or more of the following are usually involved: high rate of spread, prolific crowning and/or spotting, presence of fire whirls, a strong convection column. Predictability is difficult because such fires often exercise influence on their environment and behave erratically, sometimes dangerously.

Fire Behavior The manner in which a fire reacts to the influences of fuels, weather, and topography.

Fire Intensity A general term relating to the heat energy released by a fire.

Fire Regime A fire regime is a generalization based on fire histories at individual sites. Fire regime is a description of patterns, or cycles, of fire occurrences, frequency, size, severity, and sometimes vegetation and fire effects as well, in a given area or ecosystem.

 Fire Regime I: Frequent fire return, low severity; 0-35 years

 Fire Regime II: Frequent fire return, stand replacement severity fire; 0-35 years

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 Fire Regime III: Mixed fire severity; 35-100+ years

 Fire Regime IV: Stand replacement severity; 35-100+ years

 Fire Regime V: Stand replacement severity; 200+ years

Fire Season 1) Period(s) of the year during which wildland fires are likely to occur, spread, and affect resource values sufficient to warrant organized fire management activities. 2) A legally enacted time during which burning activities are regulated by state or local authority.

Fire Weather Weather conditions that influence fire ignition, fire behavior, and suppression.

Flame Length The distance between the flame tip and the midpoint of the flame depth at the base of the flame (generally the ground surface); flame length is an indicator of fire intensity.

Focal Species Literally meaning “those species focused on”, focal species are animal and plant species that provide an essential ecological function, or are indicative of essential habitat conditions. These species may provide an umbrella function for other species or represent large groups of other species. They may provide an efficient way to represent a planning goal – such as biodiversity protection. Focal species may include “indicator species”, which can be defined as those that tell something about the conditions in a particular habitat.

Forb A plant with a soft rather than permanent woody stem, that is not a grass or grass-like plant.

Foreground (viewing distance) The portion of a scene nearest to the viewer. Ranging from 0-500m.

Fragmentation As related to forest management, fragmentation is a process that results in habitat conversion, habitat discontinuity, and eventually the isolation or insularization of the original habitat. The process of fragmentation occurs across a range of landscape patterns. At one extreme, it is represented by small disturbance patches, which disrupt the continuity of habitat. At the other extreme, widespread habitat conversion causes isolation of the remnant original habitat into patches.

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Fuel Combustible material. Includes vegetation such as grass, leaves, ground litter, plants, shrubs, and trees that feed a fire. (Also see surface fuels.)

Fuel Loading The amount of fuels present expressed quantitatively in terms of weight per unit area (e.g., tons/acre).

Fuel Model Simulated fuel complex (or combination of vegetation types) for which all fuel descriptors required for the solution of a mathematical rate of spread model have been specified.

Fuel Moisture The quantity of moisture in fuels expressed as a percentage of the weight when thoroughly dried at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Also referred to as fuel moisture content.

Fuels Reduction Manipulation, including combustion or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control. Often includes thinning and/or prescribed burning.

Fuel Type An identifiable association of fuel elements of a distinctive plant species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that would cause a predictable rate of fire spread or difficulty of control under specified weather conditions.

Geographic Information System (GIS) 1). A database designed to handle geographic data. 2). A set of computer operations that can be used to analyze geographic data (also referred to as computerized mapping).

Goal In planning, a concise statement that describes future condition to be achieved with no specific date by which it is to be attained. It is normally expressed in broad, general terms. Goal statements form the principal basis from which objectives are developed.

Ground Fuels All combustible materials below the surface litter, including duff, tree or shrub roots, punky wood, peat, sawdust, and other materials that can support a glowing combustion without flame.

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Habitat The place where plant or animal naturally and grows.

Historic Range of Variability (HRV) The bounded behavior of ecosystems prior to the dramatic changes in state factors that accompanied the settlement of North America, beginning with the discovery of the “New World”.

Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) – See Watershed

Intermittent Stream A stream that normally flows in response to a seasonally fluctuating water table in a well-defined channel (flowing 10-90 percent of an average year). The channel would exhibit signs of annual scour, sediment transport and other stream channel characteristics, absent perennial flows. Intermittent streams typically flow during times of elevated water table levels and may be dry during significant periods of the year, depending on precipitation cycles. Intermittent streams do not maintain fish of aquatic that have larvae with multi-year life cycles. Contrast with ephemeral stream and perennial stream.

Issues Areas of unresolved conflict concerning management of the National Forest.

Ladder Fuels Fuels which provide vertical continuity between strata, thereby allowing fire to carry from surface fuels into the crowns of trees or shrubs with relative ease. They help start and continue crowning on a fire.

Land Resource Management Plan (LRMP) The document that guides the management of a particular national forest and establishes management standards for all lands controlled by that national forest. Also referred to as the forest plan or amended forest plan.

Large Fire 1) For statistical purposes, a fire burning more than a specified area of land; e.g., 100 acres. 2) A fire burning with a size and intensity such that its behavior is determined by interaction between its own convection column and weather conditions above the surface.

Late and Old Structure Multistory (LOS-M) Two or more cohorts and strata present including large, old trees. Definition: Multi-ages stand with assortment of tree sizes and canopy strata present including large, old trees. Grasses, forbs, and shrubs may be present. The Okanogan National Forest definition for mixed conifer stands is 8 or more trees per acre at least 21 inches in diameter at breast height.

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Late and Old Structure Single Story (LOS-S) Single stratum of medium to large, old trees of one or more cohorts. Structure maintained through nonlethal burning or management. Description: Broken or continuous canopy of medium to large, old trees. Single or multi-cohort. Understory absent or consisting of some seedlings, saplings, grasses, forbs, or shrubs. The Okanogan National Forest definition for mixed conifer stands is 8 or more trees per acre at least 21 inches in diameter at breast height.

Litter Top layer of the forest, scrubland, or grassland floor, directly above the fermentation layer. It's composed of loose debris including sticks, branches, twigs, and recently fallen leaves or needles, little altered in structure by decomposition.

Long-term Effects Those effects, which would usually occur beyond the next ten years.

Management Action Any activity undertaken as part of the administration of the National Forest.

Management Area An area with similar management objectives and a common management prescription. Each area has a “discrete” or unique identifier number.

Management Indicator Species A species selected for analysis in the Okanogan NF LRMP because its welfare is presumed to be an indicator of the welfare of other species using the same habitat.

Market Value The unit price of an output normally exchanged in a market after at least one stage of production. Market value is expressed in terms of prices as evidenced by market transactions.

Mesic Refers to moist to moderately moist soil conditions. Under mesic conditions, soil moisture is predictably adequate for plant growth during the growing season.

Middleground (viewing distance) Ranging from 500m-5km. The distance at which it is hardest to achieve harmonization among different disturbances affecting the landscape.

Mineral Soil Soil layers below the predominantly organic layers; soil with little combustible material.

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Mitigation Collective actions taken to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, eliminate, or compensate for the negative impact of a land management practice.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) NEPA is the basic national law for protection of the environment, passed by Congress in 1969. It sets policy and procedures for , and authorizes Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments to be used as analytical tools to help federal managers make land management decisions.

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) An act to establish a program for the preservation of additional historic properties throughout the Nation, and for other purposes.

Native Species With respect to a particular ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of an introduction, historically occurred or currently occurs in that ecosystem (Executive Order 13122, 2/3/99).

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) A standard for measuring the suspended solid matter in water determined by how much light is reflected by particles in the water.

Objective In planning, a concise, time specific statement of measurable planned results that respond to pre- established goals. An objective forms the basis for further planning to define the precise steps to be taken and the resources to be used in achieving identified goals.

Old Growth A forest comprised of many large trees, large snags and numerous large down logs; having a multi- layered canopy of several tree species; the trees showing signs of decadence; the last stage in forest succession. Okanogan NF LRMP defines mixed conifer old growth as a stand of at least 30 acres in size with 15 trees or more with diameters at least 18 inches in diameter at breast height, two snags at least 12 inches at breast height and three logs and at least 12 inches in diameter per acre.

Perennial Stream

Any watercourse that normally flows most of the year (greater than 90 percent of an average year) in a well-defined channel, although droughts and other precipitation patterns may influence the actual duration of flow. It contains fish or aquatic insects that have larvae with multiyear lifecycles, and water-dependent vegetation is typically associated with it. Contrast with ephemeral stream and intermittent stream

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Permittee A permit holder for activity on Forest Service lands, quite often a range use permit

Plant Association A grouping of plant species, or a plant community, that recurs across the landscape usually defined by the dominant trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs and the ability of tree species to become established. Plant associations are used as indicators of environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, light, etc.

Pre-commercial Thin Reducing the number of live tree stems to allow increased growth and vigor for the remaining trees, where the average size of targeted trees for removal is not of sufficient value to pay the cost of logging and hauling.

Prescribed Fire Any fire ignited by management actions under certain pre-determined conditions to meet specific objectives related to hazardous fuels reduction or habitat improvement. A written, approved prescribed fire plan must exist, and NEPA requirements must be met prior to ignition. Prescribed fires are ignited and managed within a "window" (see "Prescription" below) of very specific conditions including winds, temperatures, , and other factors specified in the burn plan.

Prescription (fire) Measurable criteria that define conditions under which a prescribed fire may be ignited, which also guide selection of appropriate management responses and indicate other required actions. Prescription criteria may include safety, economic factors, air quality, , and other environmental, geographic, administrative, social, or legal considerations.

Prescription (silviculture) Either a general term used to describe a set of vegetation management activities (i.e. irregular shelterwood harvest or aspen release) ; or a site specific document, prepared by a certified silviculturist, where the stand is described; the specific management and silvicultural objectives are outlined; guidelines for identifying trees to be harvested are provided; and post-sale activities are listed.

Range allotment A parcel of ground leased to livestock producers (permit holders or “Permittees”) by the Forest Service.

Ranger District The administrative sub-unit of a national forest, supervised by a District Ranger who reports directly to a Forest Supervisor.

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Reach A linear segment of a stream.

Regeneration The establishment of new seedlings in response to timber management.

Regional Forester The official of the US Forest Service responsible for administering an entire region of the Forest Service.

Rehabilitation Commonly referred to as "rehab," the work necessary to repair damage or disturbance caused by wildland fire or suppression activities. Often includes restoration of firelines or dozer work, and projects such as erosion control, installation of water bars or culverts, re-seeding or other rehab of fire-damaged areas.

Resilience The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedbacks.

Resources 1) The natural resources of an area, such as timber, wildlife habitat, grasslands, watershed values, and recreational and other values. 2) Personnel, equipment, services, and supplies available, or potentially available, for assignment to fires or other incidents.

Responsible official The US Forest Service employee who has been delegated the authority to carry out a specific planning action.

Restoration - See ecological restoration.

Riparian Pertaining to areas of land directly influenced by water. Riparian areas usually have visible vegetative or physical characteristics reflecting this water influence.

Riparian Area (RHCA) An area adjacent to a water course, wetland or pond where forest management is limited to practices that would be beneficial and would help meet riparian management objectives.

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Riparian Management Objectives (RMOs) The objectives identified for a riparian area that guide any management activity within a riparian area.

Road Maintenance Level A formerly established designation that describes the intensity of maintenance necessary for the planned operation of a road.

 Maintenance Level 1: This level is assigned to intermittent service roads during the time management direction requires that the road be closed or otherwise blocked to traffic. Basic custodial maintenance is performed to protect the road investment and to keep damage to adjacent resources to an acceptable level. Drainage facilities and runoff patterns are maintained.

 Maintenance Level 2: This level is assigned where management direction requires that the road be open for limited passage of traffic. Traffic is normally minor, usually consisting of one or a combination of administrative, permitted, dispersed recreation, or other specialized uses. Log haul may occur at this level. Roads in this maintenance level are normally characterized as single lane, primitive type facilities intended for use by high clearance vehicles. Passenger car traffic is not a consideration.

 Maintenance Level 3: This level is assigned where management direction requires the road to be open and maintained for safe travel by a prudent driver in a passenger car. Traffic volumes are minor to moderate; however, user comfort and convenience is not considered a priority. Roads at this maintenance level are normally characterized as low speed, single land with turnouts and spot surfacing. Some roads may be fully surfaced with either native or processed material. The functional classification of these roads is normally local or minor collector.

Runoff The portion of precipitation that flows over the land surface or in open channels.

Rural Heavy modification.

Sanitation Harvesting or removing trees with the intent to reduce or eliminate root disease and dwarf mistletoe infestations and their potential to spread.

Security Habitat Areas that are away from the influence of open roads, trails, and/or human disturbance.

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Sediment Material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by water, wind, ice or mass wasting and has come to rest on the earth’s surface.

Sedimentation The tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier.

Seral A biotic community that is a developmental, transitory stage in an ecological succession.

Seral Species A species associated with a stage (sere) in the development of a biotic community.

Shelterwood A timber harvest prescription that retains ten to seventeen trees of commercial size per acre.

Site Preparation Activities applied to a stand to enhance site establishment of tree species that include but are not limited to felling small trees, underburning and herbicide treatment that removes vegetative competition and/or exposes mineral soil to facilitate natural seeding or planting

Skyline A harvest system using steel cable to bring logs to the road using a tower and winches.

Slash Debris left after logging (commercial harvest), pruning, thinning, or brush cutting; can include logs, chips, bark, branches, stumps and broken understory trees or brush.

Smoke Management Application of fire intensities and meteorological processes to minimize degradation of air quality during prescribed fires.

Snag A standing dead tree or part of a dead tree from which at least the smaller branches have fallen.

Soil Compaction A reduction of soil volume, which results in alteration of soil chemical, physical and biological properties and qualities.

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Stand A stand is a spatially continuous group of trees and associated vegetation having similar structures and growing under similar soil and climatic conditions. (Oliver & Larson, 1996)

Stand Development Is the part of stand dynamics concerned with changes in stand structure over time. (Oliver, 1996)

Stand Initiation Growing space is reoccupied following a stand replacing disturbance. Description: One canopy stratum (may be broken or continuous). One cohort of seedlings or saplings; grass, forbs, and shrubs may be present.

Stem Exclusion Closed Canopy New individuals are excluded through light or underground competition. Description: Continuous closed canopy, usually one cohort; poles, small or medium trees present. Suppressed trees, grasses, shrubs, and forbs may be absent in some cover types.

Stem Exclusion Open Canopy Underground competition limits establishment of new individuals. Description: One broken canopy stratum which included poles or small trees; grasses, shrubs, or forbs may also be present.

Stocking A description of the number of trees, basal area, or volume per acre in a forest stand compared with a desired level for balanced health and growth. Most often used in comparative expressions, such as well-stocked, poorly stocked, or overstocked

Structural Class or Stand Structure A classification of stand structures based on stand development that accounted for disturbance regimes typical of the inland northwest. Stratifying a landscape into these process-based structure classes allows subsequent analysis of landscape pattern and ecological processes, i.e. disturbance and succession.

Structure The physical arrangement in space of water, nutrients, and species, that makes up the ecosystem.

Successional Stage A stage or recognizable condition of a plant community that occurs during its development from bare ground to climax.

Suppression All the work of extinguishing or containing a fire, beginning with its discovery.

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Surface Fuels Loose litter on the soil surface, normally consisting of fallen leaves or needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches that have not yet decayed; also grasses, forbs, low and medium shrubs, tree seedlings, heavier branch wood, downed logs, and stumps interspersed with or partially replacing the litter.

Sustainability Meeting needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. is composed of desirable social, economic, and ecological conditions or trends interacting at varying spatial and temporal scales, embodying the principles of multiple-use and sustained yield.

System Road A road wholly or partly within, or adjacent to, and serving National Forest System land and necessary for the protection, administration and use of the National Forest System and the use and development of its resources.

System Trail A National Forest System trail that is open to public travel and has been approved for inclusion in the National Forest Trail System.

Temporary Road or Trail A road or trail necessary for emergency operations or authorized by contract, permit, lease, or other written authorization that is not a forest road or a forest trail and that is not included in a forest transportation atlas (36 CFR 212.1). Temporary Roads would be constructed to the minimum standards necessary to access units for harvest activities while still providing adequate resource protection. These roads would be decommissioned following harvest activities and the ground put back into productive use.

Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) Measures such as thinning, pruning, release cutting, prescribed fire, girdling, weeding, or poisoning of unwanted trees aimed at improving growing conditions for the remaining trees.

Turbidity The cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.

Unauthorized Road or Trail A road or trail that is not a forest road or trail or a temporary road or trail that is not included in a forest transportation atlas (36 CFR 212.1). Often, these roads were originally part of the National

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Forest Road System constructed for access to timber sale areas as part of timber sale contract work. The roads may or may not have been planned for closure or decommissioning after use. Some of these roads may have been reconstructed or opened since their initial construction to use for project access (prescribed burning, wildfire suppression, silvicultural treatments, etc.) or illegally opened for various purposes by the public (firewood, hunting, etc.).

Uncontrolled Fire Any fire which threatens life, property, or natural resources.

Underburn A fire that consumes surface fuels, from few to most shrubs, and causes limited mortality to medium and large diameter trees.

Understory Re-initiation Initiation of new cohort as older cohort occupies less than full growing space. Description: Broken overstory canopy with formation of understory stratum; two or more cohorts. Overstory may be poles or larger trees; understory is seedling, saplings, grasses, forbs, or shrubs.

Unit The area of a stand prescribed for treatment, whether commercial, non-commercial or both.

Urban High degree of modification.

Viability The ability of a to maintain sufficient size so that it persists over time in spite of normal fluctuation in numbers; usually expressed as a probability of maintaining a specific population for a specified period.

Watershed An area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody. Based on the Hydrologic Unit Code, which is a hierarchical sequence of numbers used by the United States Geological Survey to identify hydrological features, a watershed is in the context with 1st Region, 2nd Subregion, 3rd Basin, 4th Subbasin, 5th Watershed and 6th Subwatershed.

Well Distributed A geographic distribution of habitats that maintains a population throughout a planning area and allows for interaction of individuals through periodic interbreeding and colonization of unoccupied habitats.

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Windthrow When all or large portions of trees are blown down by wind, often in conjunction with rain, snow or icing events.

Wildland Fire

Any non-structure fire, other than prescribed fire, that occurs in a wildland area.

Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI) The line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. Often incorrectly referred to as the "interzone" or "urban/wildland interface."

Winter Logging During winter logging, snow is typically present and the ground is frozen so as to reduce impacts to soils and understory plants. Winter logging refers to the condition described, not a specific date.

Young Forest Multistor y Two or more cohorts present through establishment after periodic disturbances including harvest events. Description: Multi-aged (multi-cohort) stand with assortment of tree sizes and canopy strata present but very large trees absent. Grasses, forbs, and shrubs may be present.

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